A weekly address from Patrick Adams,
President of St. Louis Community Credit Union

More Service, Less Space

Have you been paying attention to what’s happening in the retail market? Stores are getting smaller. I’m not talking about the mom and pop stores – they’ve always been small. I’m talking about retailers whose giant stores are equal to their giant brands. Suddenly, like “poof,” you have Walmart, Target, Build-A-Bear and others moving to something on a much lesser scale. I went into a Walmart recently where I could see both the east and west outer wall upon stepping inside the double doors. What? That’s quite a change given that I’ve been in Walmart’s so big that women’s shoes are in a different time zone than barbeque pits. (more…)

Find the humor

I asked a friend of mine at church the other day how she liked her coffee. She replied “with lipstick.” It caught my funny bone and I busted a gut laughing. In humor, timing is everything. Her response was perfectly timed. What also made it funny was that she did not intend for it to be funny. Her wit was spontaneous—the best kind. My guess is that she wouldn’t or couldn’t tell a joke—it’s not her style. (more…)

It’s all relative.

It’s all relative. I’m tall to anyone under six feet, but to a guy north of seven—not so much. To somebody who doesn’t work out, I’m a gym rat. To a triathlete, I’m a cupcake. I’m a pretty good dancer at the family wedding reception, but to the folks who do it for a living, I look like I’m shuffling at a bus stop in shirt sleeves in the dead of winter. (more…)

People Over Profits

People as a commodity in the work place? Commodity is a product that can be thought of as fungible. Gas is a commodity, so is coffee, milk, fruit—you get the idea. I didn’t have to turn to my Webster’s II New Riverside Desk Dictionary copyright 1988, minus the cover and containing a few rips, bumps and bruises to know that. Fungible is defined as something that is easily interchangeable. I didn’t have to look up that fancy word either. Put it all together and you get that “people are interchangeable” in the workplace. Not always. (more…)

Three keys to success

I’m a fan of three keys to success: discernment; deductive reasoning; and the newly added third “D”—discipline. I’ve talked about two of them over time, maybe even discipline has been discussed, but never have I hooked them all together to create the “Triple D” to success. (more…)

Patrick Adams, CEO

Patrick has been employed with St. Louis Community Credit Union for more than 30 years. As a Community Development Financial Institution, St. Louis Community offers safe and affordable loans, second chance checking accounts and branches in underserved areas as part of its overall community giveback. Patrick is proud to be associated with nearly 200 employees who have a laser-like focus on service to our members and the community. Learn more at stlouiscommunity.com